The Pentagon had its own on-site fire crew that responded first. Nearby, Washington National Airport sent its firefighters to the scene. Arlington County Fire Department was also on the initial response. Most stories from the Pentagon were of cooperation between the military, fire, police, and civilians.
Arlington County Fire Department Capt. Steve McCoy and his crew were traveling north on I-395 for a training exercise when they saw the plane bank sharply before disappearing over the horizon.
According to a Defense Media Network article, “as soon as they heard the explosion and saw the massive plume of smoke and fire, McCoy radioed the Arlington County Emergency Communications Center and — already thinking of the World Trade Center attacks — advised that the FBI be notified of a possible terrorist attack.”
Spc. Beau Doboszenski, a former volunteer firefighter and EMT in Loretto, Minn., was working in the Pentagon as a tour guide on 9/11. The tour guide office is on the opposite end of the building from where the plane hit; he didn't even hear the explosion. He heard a Navy captain screaming for anyone with medical training.
Doboszenski ran through the building, around the barricades and down the George-Washington Parkway until he reached Pentagon North Parking, where medics from the health clinic were beginning to triage victims.
He joined in to help.
